And, this is not “convoluting”, but saying “this is what the earliest Christians believed and saw and they were much closer in time to the actual events than some bloke in 2011”.
Just to jump in:
- I trust you're not saying Calvin and Luther were "early" Christians.
- Josephus was an early Christian, and he said that James was the brother of Jesus.
But, to me, the real question is why this is even a concern - it's about Jesus, not his mother. Jesus is my Saviour, and I worship Him - He is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, crucified for our sin, buried, and raised from the dead - period. Whether or not Mary remained a virgin after Christ's birth is of no relevance, unless you worship her!